The Odd One Out
by thee-dark-enchantress
Summary: Keller and Galen are married and have kids.Their daughter is the Angel Fire and the whole Nightworld wants her dead.Jez and Morgead's son Harvey wants to protect her but when he can't control his feelings and her own family is after her what will happen?
1. Prologue

**A/N: ok, well, just another fan-fic I've been planning in my head and started writing. This first chapter is really bad and I've tried to write it from a slightly stroppy teen's point of view, that's why it's not that good, I think. Let me know what you think. Oh and sorry that it's all in big sections but it's just the prologue right?**

**Disclaimer:I own none of the characters and plots made up by Lisa (wonderful Lisa, sigh hee hee) but everything else is mine!!!**

**Prologue**

My name is Cai Drache, daughter of Prince Galen Drache and his wife, my mother, Raksha Keller, princess of all shapeshifters. Which, obviously, makes me also a princess. We're one of the most famous royal families in the Nightworld, the Harman family being the most famous twinned with the Redferns. I know what your thinking, I live in a big castle and my mom and dad wear crowns and I will one day be queen and fall in love with some handsome prince. Yeah, right. I mean, sure I live in a big house, a mansion actually but it's owned by Thierry Descouedres, the Nightworld Lord. But my mom and dad don't wear crowns, I mean, my mom wouldn't be caught dead in a skirt of any kind, let alone a full length ball gown and sparkling jewels. And the chances of me finding my 'one true love' is next to none so that's another fairytale piece of crap flushed down the loo. And by the time I get to be head of the First House of the Shapeshifters I'll probably be 80, if ever, because I'm the youngest. Oh, sorry, did I forget to mention that I have a sister and two brothers, yeah and their my quadruplets. Is that the right word, I don't know but my mom gave birth to a litter not a baby. She's a panther and my dad's a leopard. I mean, it's not like we came out all cat like or anything but there were four of us. Anyway, as I was saying, I'm the youngest, meaning I came out last. Actually I was born on a completely different day, just past midnight. One minute. One whole minute is all that separates me from my brothers and sister. And they make the most of it. I hate them.

Ok, let me give you the 411, you know, the whole lot. You see, my siblings treat me like dirt and they are the most common, disgusting, lowlife, losers I have ever been unfortunate to meet. My sister is a bimbo, the classic blond, mini-skirt clad tart. My first brother is a typical lady killer, he has at least two different girl friends a month, usually more, though he's not really that dumb. On the other hand my second brother couldn't get more stupid. He can't even figure out what 2 + 2 is, for Goddess's sake! The only reason he can get a date is because he's the biggest bad ass in school. It's still a mystery how he can walk and talk at the same time. Now me, I can think for myself, I'm not a genius or anything but I've got brains. I can't say I take mom and dad in the beauty department though. Oh, so I'm exaggerating a bit but I'm not far off. I'm not ugly I'll admit, but I'm not gorgeous or anything either. I'm just ordinary, except, well, I'm not. Wow, that didn't make sense did it. Ok, I'll just tell you exactly what I look like. I have a pretty plain face, no crooked nose, no bushy eyebrows, nothing out of the ordinary. I have icy blue eyes but the thing that makes me freaky is my hair. You see it's stripped. I know what your thinking, your thinking highlights, right? Nut mine are natural. Had it since I was born. My hair's black with, well, umm. . . silver streaks. They're not small either, more like someone has got a huge silver marker pen and drawn lines on my hair. And as you can imagine everybody thinks it's horrible and weird and they push me even further away. Well, that's not true, mom and dad think it's ok but parents will say anything to shut you up. Then again, Harvey isn't so turned off by it, though I don't think he likes it or anything. Oh I haven't told you about Harvey have I. He's the son of the infamous Wild Power Jez Redfern and her soul mate Morgead Blackthorn. They were going to call him Harley but Jez drew the line there. Ha ha, I'll never forget the day Harvey told his parents he didn't want a Harley but instead wanted a Ninja X213, black. I swear Jez had heart failure. I really don't know what's so great about Harley's though, they're all big and ugly, Ninja's on the other hand, oh baby. I'm dawderling a bit aren't I? I'll try get back on track.

Harvey is my best friend. Actually he's my only friend. We used to fight all the time, but I think it just brought us closer together. We hang out together, party together, get drunk together, laugh together and apart from my mom and dad I think he's the only who's ever seen me cry. He looks just like his dad, with pitch black hair and the worlds most stubborn attitude to go with it. But when the light hits it right you can see a warm red tint to his hair, probably the only visual aspect of his mom that he had inherited, apart from her glowing eyes. Apart from my siblings he's the only other person around here who's the same age as me. Sure, the other kids are only a year younger but that's different. When I was little, a year after I was born, I noticed all the other women betting big and fat, and I know, strange behaviour for a 1 year old but like I said, I'm weird. Anyway I saw that three of the ladies weren't so I went and helped them. You see, I'm the Angel Fire. It's hard to explain, well, I'm kind of like the Wild Powers and there are four of us, my siblings are the others. It's like being a uber-witch. When I noticed the three women all slim and looking really sad I felt sad too. So I wanted to make them happy, I think psychologists call it negative reinforcement or something. Anyway, I crawled up to Uncle Thierry, Auntie Poppy and Uncle Quinn and gave them a big hug. What they didn't know was that when I did I made their seed come back to life. A month later they were all ill and buying pregnancy tests. I remember the day they came in and didn't know how it was possible, then looked at me and gaped. I just laughed and played with my toys. Back then me and Harvey were great friends. But then we hit puberty and he became an ass. And that, my friends, is where our story begins.

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	2. shut it

**Chapter One: Honesty's the Best Policy**

I leaned back against the massive trunk of the Great Oak in the 100 acre garden. From higher up in the tree I would have been able to see the mansion but here was just fine.

I narrowed my eyes as I heard someone approaching, male. He came into sight and I drew in a sharp breath that made a hissing sound. Harvey Blackthorn. He heard me and looked up and smiled as he saw me.

"Hiding again, your highness?" he smirked, staring up at me.

"Oh, go away." I spat back.

"I do believe you have no power over me." He pointed out.

I growled at him, right, why was he always right?! "Shouldn't you be combing your hair or something?"

"Or something."

He leaned against the nark of the tree and didn't move. Goddess, couldn't I go anywhere to get some peace.

I hopped down off the tree easily and marching away. When I looked back I saw Harvey following me.

"Leave me alone!" I yelled.

He didn't reply, just smirked and kept following.

"What do you want?"

"Maybe I just want to go back to the house."

I stopped and put my hands on my hips, "Then go!"

He didn't move. Goddess this boy was infuriating! When I glared at him and walked back to the mansion he started walking again.

I grumbled under my breath as I stormed into the housed and slammed the back door shut behind me. Half way down the corridor I snapped, enough was enough.

"WHAT?!"

He smirked, again. I shook with anger. I couldn't stand his annoying stuck up smirks. So I punched him. Right in the nose, and a good punch might I say, no hesitation what so ever.

"Ah! You bitch!"

I laughed as our parents came running in. When he charged at me his dad restrained him. I laughed harder. He growled at me. His dad continued to restrain him, saying "Never hit a woman, never hit a woman."

Harvey yelled back at him, "She's not a woman, she's a brat!"

"Hey!" I yelled back, charging too. Suddenly I too was grabbed from behind and held back.

"Let me go!" We both yelled.

Our parents looked at each other and nodded once.

Mom turned me around and pushed me forward, "Come on, walk."

"How am I supposed to walk when I don't know where I'm going?" I argued.

"Well, most people put one foot in front of the other then repeat." Harvey said seconds before Jez whacked him around the head.

We were led up through winding hallways until we reached a door. They opened it and marched us down some old, stone stairs into a huge cellar where most of the interrogation rooms were. We moved down a few halls which were dark and cramped, all four sides made from damp stone. It made me feel claustrophobic, making the cat in me want to whimper.

We were courted to the end of the hall. They opened another door and the moment it was open we were shoved inside. Our parents called out "Have fun!" before slamming the door shut, which was followed by the sound of a heavy old lock banging into place.

Harvey and I stared at each other in total confusion. Our shared look was soon interrupted by a crackling filling the room. Up on the wall was a speaker and suddenly voices erupted from it.

"Morgead give it here." Jez demanded.

"No, I want to say it." He replied.

"Morgead, no."

"But I want to!"

"Give, now."

"No."

"NOW!"

There was a commotion through the speaker. Harvey hung his head in embarrassment.

"Off!"

"There," Jez said, "Next time you'll just give it to me."

"Yes, dear." Morgead said obediently in the distance.

"Could we just get on with this?" Mom asked impatiently, I could almost imagine mom tapping her foot.

"Okay, okay."

Harvey and I looked at each other in confusion.

"Here's the deal, kiddos, you two get to stay in there until you make up and become friends and we'll sit back and enjoy the show." Jez announced simply.

"What!" Harvey yelled, "That's a forced order! We have no choice!"

"That's enough Harvey Algernon Blackthorn-Redfern." Jez warned.

"_Algernon?! _Hahahhahahhah!" I cried, peeing myself with laughter.

"Shut up," He replied through gritted teeth, turning a little pink.

"Sorry Ally." I giggled. He growled back.

" I don't know what your laughing at Engela Krishna Lola Drache."

I let my hair fall in front of my face as I felt my face turn deep red. I was so embarrassed. Harvey barked with laughter.

"Alright!" I cried, "I get the point."

Harvey wiped away mock tears from his eyes and sobered up, still grinning.

"How long do we have to be in here?" I asked grumpily.

My mom replied, "How ever long it takes. Days, weeks…hell, if it takes months you're staying in there."

"Why!?"

Finally my dad spoke, "Darling, you two have been fighting for 6 and a half years, enough is enough. I'm sorry baby girl but you have to do this."

"But daddy!"

"I'm sorry honey, no buts."

"Daddy," I started again and whispered, "What if _something_ happens?"

"Oh," he said, "Keller, she has a point."

"Oh, don't be such a push over Galen. Nothing will happen, quit trying to crawl out of this Cai. You're doing this and that's the last I want to hear of it."

I let out an angry breath then flopped onto the bed, arms crossed.

"Dad, come on," Harvey said, "This is stupid."

"Sorry son, this is out of my hands."

"But dad I have to have those samples done and sent in two nights!"

"Do you need any prototypes made?" His mom asked.

Harvey frowned, "Uh…no."

"Then we'll send the paper work down to you and you can do them in there."

"But…I…we…ah!" He threw his arms in the air and turned away.

"Right, now that's sorted. There's a camera that runs 24/7 in here but no camera in the bathroom, there'll be someone on the camera at all times. Meals will be brought to you. If you want anything else, ask and we'll decide if you can have it." Keller informed.

"And what do you expect us to do in the mean time?"

"Talk, get to know each other…again." Jez answered.

"That's it?" Harvey asked.

"Well, you'll just have to wait and see what happens." Morgead said.

And with that the line went dead.

Harvey looked over at me. I glared back, said, "Whatever." and rolled over on the bed so I was staring at the wall.

A sudden bang of metal against metal made me open my eyes. I realized I'd fallen asleep. I sat up and looked around; the room had dimmed and by the door was 2 trays, both with food and drink on it. Harvey casually pushed a tray towards the bed then grabbed his and went back to slumping against the wall. I picked up my tray. The meal was basic, very rare steak, new potatoes in butter and peas. Next to it was a can of diet soda. I glanced up to find Harvey had the same. He was already tucking in and his rare steak was oozing blood. We ate in silence. The room grew steadily darker throughout the meal and by the end of it Harvey was a dim figure across the room. He reached up and switched on the light only for it to burn out seconds later. I closed my eyes holding back my anger. Clearly Harvey was not trying so hard.

"Oh, for God's sake!" He yelled at the camera, "Do we not even yet a working light now?!"

"Uh…uh…I-I" someone spluttered over the intercom, "I'll – just…a…a minute…I'll…um…get someone." The poor vampire stammered.

"Don't bother." I called to him, "I'll fix it."

The vampire sighed with relief and thanked me.

Though I couldn't make out Harvey's face I knew he was looking questioningly at me. I took no notice and concentrated at the task at hand.

I focused on the image of fire. The feeling of heat on my skin, the bright glow, the crackling sound and the hint of burning wood on my tongue. I wrapped the fire around me until it was so real that I could reach out my hands and feel the intensity of the fire, the blistering heat. Slowly I opened my eyes to find a roaring fire in the middle of the room. It crackled and burned bright, and was rimmed with silver instead of orange. I smiled slightly and my eye lids drooped heavily. I slipped from the bed to the floor and curled onto my side next to the fire, hand stretched towards it. The fire was designed for heat and light, not harm so it wouldn't burn either of us.

**so theres the longer vewrsion,please R&R!!!!!love you all!**


	3. team building

**A/N: hope you guys like this one. have got my ass in gear and have been writing. sorry it's been soooo long, but this monday i have my first GCSE! AHHH! HELP! wish me luck.i love you guys! review please, and enjoy! thanks to all my fans,i love you!**

**Recap/Into to chapter**** (new bit, this is the end of last chapter from Harvey's POV)**

Overhead the light suddenly blinked out. Quickly a rage rose in me. Why were we stuck in this god forsaken room!? It was ridiculous. I turned on the camera, teeth lengthened in anger, "Oh, for god's sake! Do we not even get a working light!?"

The idiot on the other end of the transmitter stammered and fumbled about. Bloody new vampires, incapable of doing anything.

Then Cai called quietly from the bed. She told the vamp to stop, that she would fix it. What the hell? Was she actually being nice?

She closed her eyes again and did…nothing. Absolutely nothing! I nearly punched the wall. But then, very faintly in the dark, I saw a weak glow in her hands. It seemed to crawl along the floor to the centre, gathering strength as it did. At first it was just a blob but slowly it formed, moving slightly, and crackling. In minutes a fire had grown in front of my eyes, from Cai. The flame was not a red or yellow, but a shimmering silvery blue.

Cai slipped from the bed and curled up on the floor. Her hand was spread forward, fingers actually in the fire, but yet unharmed. Just then all my rage subsided and deep down I felt something soften at the sight of Cai's small smile…

Chapter 2

The next day proved to be as boring as expected. At 8:30am we were awoken to the sound of a screaming baby, clearly our parents were taking much pleasure in our torment, as they could be heard laughing through the speakers. No doubt they were sat there with popcorn or something, cheeky gits.

I rolled over with a groan then slammed my hands over my ears and ran into the bathroom. The screaming was drowned out a little in the bathroom, but the high pitch still irritated my ears. I twisted the hot tap on the shower as far as it would go then stripped off. I avoided the mirror on the wall, knowing I'd never see anything I liked, and dived into the shower. The water burned my skin and I hissed in the sudden pain, the gradually got used to it. My skin shone bright pink at the heat of the water and I lifted my face and sighed at the release. For a cat I sure loved my scolding showers. I lost myself in the shower, letting the water pelt my skin and heat me to my core. It seemed to last hours, the hot liquid washing away my stress and fear, twisting and turning in that blessed shower. Only too soon Harvey began banging on the door, yelling for me to get out and not use all the hot water. I sighed and removed myself from the shower, wrapped the biggest towel around myself, leaving the small one for him. I held my head high as I passed him at the door, ignoring his death glare and the slam of the bathroom door. I waited until I heard a 'AH!' and then fell into fits of giggles.

"CAI! YOU BITCH!"

I laughed harder then pulled on a straight face as he appeared in the doorway, covered in icy water and barely covered by his tiny towel. My mouth jerked and I said innocently,

"Opse."

I clasp a hand over my mouth to muffle the laughter. His face was so hilarious. It shone bright red with anger and his nostrils flared comically. What made it even more amusing was that he had DIMPLES! I couldn't hold it anymore and collapsed into giggles. It was just too damn funny, he was angry and he had dimples! God how did anyone take him seriously?! God knows how he got such a powerful rep with those things in his cheeks. Made him look like a little 5 years old. I rolled around on the floor and gasped for breath, tears streaming from my eyes.

"You nasty mongrel! I hate you, god you're so selfish, you spoilt rich brat!" He spat at me. I took no notice and kept laughing, spluttering and gasping on the floor. Oh god, those dimples! Hahahahahahahaha.

He growl at me and reach for me, I presume to hit me, when the speakers crackled.

"Alright children, that's enough. Give it a rest. Clothes are being sent down to you, as is your breakfast and first 'team building' task." Announced my dad.

5 minutes later 2 bundles of clothes came for us, along with breakfast (mine consisted of a granola bar and a bottle of chilled water) and a…….board game?

Apparently our first 'team building' task was to play a board game together. How…fun.

I sighed after pulling on my black tank top and dark blue jeans in the bathroom and set up the game. Naturally I appointed myself banker (we were playing Monopoly).

"Hey, why do you get to banker, I'm older!" Harvey exclaimed.

"Because." I said.

"Because what?!"

"Because I said so." I said in a matter-of-fact way.

"What!? That's so stupid!"

"Look, I set up the game so I get to banker."

"What bullshit!" he yelled.

I sighed and gave him an evil, "Would you just sit so we can get this stupid game over with?"

"Fine." He said, and huffed onto the floor, sulking and looking very much like a 5 year old again. I suppressed a laugh and continued to set up the game. He grabbed the top hat quickly; everyone always wanted the top hat.

"Hey, give it!" I complained.

"No, if you get to be banker then I get the top hat!"

"You pig!"

He growled again, "Oh, so I'm the pig? I thought it was you that shape shifted into ugly things."

My jaw hit the floor, what a cheap shot, "You prick!"

He smiled charmingly, "Why yes, I do believe I have one of those."

I threw up my hands in anger. God I hated him.

And that is how the game continued to go, us throwing insults back at each other, accusing us of cheating each other out of money, or when one of us went to the toilet of stealing from the bank. In the end no one won the game because it was ended by our parents, who couldn't take our insane banter anymore. I stuck out my tongue at him and huffed over to the bed, no caring how childish I was being.

For the rest of the day we didn't talk or look at each other, we ate in silent again and waited out the rest of the day finding company in our own minds instead…

**A/N:**** hope you guys liked it! I've just written this right onto the comp, with no pre planning and am having a really creative night so I hope you like it. You know what to do! HIT THAT BUTTON! Hee hee.**


	4. behind the mask

**A/N:**** from now on I will be putting an intro to each chapter and it will something new, something thatwasn't in the past chapter but links up each chapter, so please read the intro, it may be important! Enjoy!**

**Intro**

My eyes drooped. I stumbled over to the bed, too exhausted to notice Harvey's shrewd eyes watching me. Sleep, that all I needed, just a good nights sleep.

I sighed as my head hit the pillow and let darkness wash over me.

Chapter 4

It was early morning when the burning started. It started at the tips of my toes and fingers but very quickly infected my body. It scorched my throat and stung my nose. Within seconds it was in my mind where it exploded. I gasped for breath. Images glued themselves to my burnt eyes then violently ripped themselves away again. They scared my memory, burning great black holes all over it. A scream ripped through the air, barely within my hearing, and pain over took the memory of the scream. There was an explosion of white light behind my eyes and time froze. For a moment the pain melted away and everything was clear. My mind was complexly free, not muddled with the stress of everyday life. Images were easy to see and simple to understand, every detail noticed. Then time started spinning again.

Another scream was heard. As my throat cracked I suddenly realised it was me who was screaming. Later I knew it was 2:30am. There was someone calling me, the voice didn't register, neither did the words. I was shaking all over and breathing in harsh pants. I waited for my mind to catch up with everything that had happened.

The blinding light faded away and slowly the battered grey ceiling of our cell came back into sight. I gasped for breath as my senses were thrown back into action.

"Cai! Cai, can you hear me?!" Harvey called.

I continued to gasp, unable to talk. The thick steel door swung open to reveal my mom. She quickly rushed to me and held me up.

"What did you see?" she asked urgently.

I inhaled then forced the worlds out of my mouth, "Lady Hannah. 372 Forest Avenue. Rogue shape shifter, bear, black. Random hit, not assigned. Garden, east wall. 2:45Am. Quick. Not much time."

Mom kissed my forehead, "Well done, darling.", then she rushed out the room to gather her team.

I closed my eyes tight, making tears slip from the corner of them. The image played out before me. So much blood. So much screaming. Her screams rang in my ears, over and over. I cried harder and let my own screams merge with hers. The sight of the waxing mood faded as Thea injected the contents of the syringe and I fell in to darkness…

**Harvey**

My pen rolled swiftly over the paper as I wrote my evaluation and filled in the forms before my prototypes could be sent off. Sighing I stopped writing and took a swig of my beer. I'd added a little colour to it; if I was going to get these finished before the morning I was going to need the blood.

Over on the bed Cai stirred, but settled down again. I studied her as she slept. Amazing how someone can change completely when unconscious. The moon played across her face, making it glow oddly. Her dark lashes created crescents on her snowy cheeks. She looked almost…angelic. I shook my head as a small smile played across my lips. I lifted my pen again and continued working.

At 2 am Cai stirred again. This time she whimpered in her sleep and her face contorted in pain. My pen paused and I watched her carefully. She whimpered again and buried her fists in the duvet. Her body shook, as if she were having a fit. I rose to my feet, my alarm steadily rising. Still carefully watching I made my way over to the intercom and spoke into it.

"Hey, who's on the watch tonight?"

The speaker cracked then my dad's familiar voice was heard, "I am, son. What's up?"

"Um…have you been watching the camera?" I asked, my eyes on Cai.

"Yeah. Don't worry; I'm sure she's just having a bad dream."

Just then Cai's back arched with a sharp snap. Her scream pierced the air. I suddenly noticed the odd glow was not from the moon at all. It hung over body like an aura, now pulsing and moving rapidly. She screamed again.

"I don't think that's a nightmare dad."

"I'll get Keller!"

I nodded once then approached Cai cautiously. Her nails where half transformed and had shredded holes into the sheets. Her skin rippled, flowing black fur then back to glowing skin. Her back was shaped in such a steep curve I was sure it would break any moment.

"Cai!" I yelled, in vain hope it would wake her, "Cai!"

Goddess, what was going on?

"Cai!"

Then, as quickly as it had come, Cai fell back onto the bed. She gasped for breath as if she were drowning and her eyes opened wide, their violet colour shining bring despite the darkness.

"Cai! Can you hear me?" I called again.

The door flew open and Keller came running into the room. She barely glanced at me as she grabbed Cai. She held Cai's quivering face and looked at her, her eyes shining with tender concern.

"What did you see?" she asked in a hurry.

I frowned. What did she mean? What was going on?

Cai choked out the words with effort, "Lady Hannah. 372 Forest Avenue. Rogue shape shifter, bear, black. Random hit, not assigned. Garden, east wall. 2:45Am. Quick. Not much time."

Keller quickly kissed her forehead and whispered, "Well done, darling.", then dashed from the room. As she passed me she said, "Please, take care of her."

I nodded once and then she left, running down the hall. I looked at my watch, 2:35 am.

Silently she cried on her bed, her body shaking violently. Another scream erupted from her mouth and I cringed as it shot through my sensitive hearing. Only seconds later Thea entered with and needle and the convulsing Cai was held down by two guard vamps as she injected the sedative into Cai's arm. Moments on her quivers subsided and she fell asleep.

Trying not to wake her I whispered to Thea, "What the hell is going on?!"

She shook her head and only said, "That is not for me to tell, Harvey. I'm sorry."

She rested her hand sympathetically on my arm and looked pointedly at Cai then departed.

I sighed and ran my hands through my hair in frustration. I threw myself to the ground and tried to sort out what had happened in my head.

Ok, so what exactly was up here? So…Cai had had a…fit? Was se epileptic? Diabetic? That would explain the injection. But her mother asked what she'd seen. Had she…had a vision?

I frowned, completely confused. Everyone in the mansion knew there was something weird about Cai, something oddly magical no one understood. She was just classed as a freak. And she was. She was always doing weird things. Always falling asleep and getting herself hurt. Always getting herself hurt. She's always jumping in front of the younger kids in their training and getting hit by a weapon. She practically lives in the hospital ward. Just last year she was rushed in there for slitting her wrists in the bath. I mean, her life wasn't that bad. She's a freaking princess for Christ's sake! What was her problem? She's loaded, got siblings, gets to shape shift. Why would she want to kill herself? She should be grateful for her life. She really was a freak…but was she having visions?

I shook my head and laughed at myself. Nah, she wasn't having visions, what bullshit. I needed to get a grip of myself. I'd ask her about it when she woke up. As for her powers…well, everyone knew the Drache's had dragon blood and her trick with the fire earlier…maybe she's been lucky enough to tap into a little power, I knew witches specialised in an element each, maybe hers was fire…

I shook my head hard on last time then rolled onto my back and tried to get some shut eye.


	5. Epiphany

**A/N: Hey everyone, long time no talk! Well, i finally getting back into a writing gig, now i'm at uni studying it(it's wicked!)!I'm slowly working my way through my stories and updating them, so bare with me and I'll try and become more regular with it all.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Five

Darkness. It was everywhere. Like a deadly cloak suffocating me. Here darkness was my own skin, stocking to me. My only enemy in this world, but an endless one. Victory was the light that didn't exist.

Then suddenly the darkness changed. It blurred and merged, slipping like oil on a dirty river. Dark greens and blue streaked the black. Hope fluttered in my heart. Colours washed out the black. Instead I found myself somewhere new. Before me is an image. It's a garden. It's dark, night, but you can't see the stars and the grey clouds hiding the moon. Row upon row of flowers surround the garden, it's lawn neatly trimmed. The light from the back of the house failed to find the back of the garden, leaving it's colours matted and faded.

Then a girl came down the garden, to where I stood. She wore a white night gown, that flowed to her feet, with an old fashioned law neck. Around her she held a cotton shawl to keep the summer chill at bay. Her soft blond hair hung loose, a lock of it laid across her shoulder. Her skin was fair and she bore a pink smudge, like a crushed flower upon her cheek. As she reached the end of the garden she reached to stroke one the roses by her, which looked almost black in the night. She looked at the sky in grief and mouthed the words, "Oh, Thierry".

Then suddenly a huge black shape broke through the wall of the garden, rearing high. The girl reeled back in shock and fear as it thundered through the rose bush. The scene played out before me like a silent movie, the sound crackling out but the picture never once breaking. I couldn't hear the bear roar, or the girls screams, the sound of cloth tearing, skin ripping, blood gushing. The sound of teeth scrapping bone, the squelch of breaking organs or the sickening pop and snap of limbs. But I could see it. I could see all of it. The light that had been lacking before was suddenly present, the blood sharp red against her pale broken skin, every hair of the bear moving in the wind as it shook its ugly head. And I knew every sound, could hear them even though they were absent, ringing in my memory like the deafening shot of a gun. I watched the scene play, end, and then rewind itself and play again, and again, and again…

…suddenly I wished for the darkness again…

I awoke to dull sunshine flaying across my bed. For a moment I felt a twinge inside, the possibility of freedom from hell building, then felt it fade away as I realised this wasn't my dream anymore, but I was back in the grey cell. I closed my eyes in dispare then opened them hastily as the images rushed at me. Tears fell without any effect, leaving my cheeks with cold trails down them. My mind kept miraculously still, holding steady and quiet for the first time all night.

"Cai, sweety?"

_Father, _my mind told me quietly.

"How are you feeling?"

I turned my neck painfully, trying to make out his face through the blur of tears. I tried to fend a fresh wave off but my face crumpled and they broke through. Dad grabbed me fast, holding me tight.

"Shh, baby girl, it's ok," he murmured, "You're safe, it's all going to be ok."

"There's so much blood," I whispered, my throat course, "And screaming. Always screaming. Make it stop daddy, make the screaming stop."

He stroked my hair gently, soothing me, "Shh, shh. No one's screaming anymore. It's all ok, baby girl. You don't need t think about it, don't think it at all."

I swallowed a groan, blood rolling around my mind, "But he's hurting her. There's so much blood…"

My father pulled back and looked me in the eyes, his bright green ones swirling with a troubled darkness. He shook his head.

"No sweety. He didn't hurt her. Your mother got there in time. She's safe. She's here and she's safe. Not a mark on her, I promise."

For a moment the visions of blood and destruction slipped from my mind. I tried to wrap my thoughts around this information.

"She's…safe?" I asked, still confused.

Dad smiled warmly, encouragingly, "Yes, safe."

I tried harder to grasp the words. "No one's hurt?"

"No one. Everyone is ok, they all came home."

My mind finally began to move faster, breaking the surface of the water into sharp clear air. As I began to realise nothing was wrong, that everyone was fine, the blood and screaming faded, little by little. It made things almost bearable.

"Lady Hannah can't wait to talk to you," he told me, smiling.

I frowned, "Why?"

He golden eyebrows rose, "Because you saved her life honey. You have no idea the impact you've had upon her and Thierry."

I struggled with the information and when it didn't process I ignored it. It wasn't important, only keeping the blood away was important. I leaned heavily on my father, worn from the conversation.

I heard a snap, then smelt a sweet creamy aroma.

"Here sweety," my dad said softly, pressing something to my mouth, "It'll help."

I automatically opened my mouth and bit down on the food. Coco burst into life in my mouth, my tongue starved for taste. Eagerly swallowing the chocolate I opened my mouth for more. More was given to me, the rich flavours dancing across my tongue. It's creaminess soothed me, making my eyelids heavy while at the same time the sugar pumped through my system, boosting my energy.

"Ok, that's enough."

I whimpered, wanting more of the sweet food. My father laughed, "If you have much more you'll upset your stomach."

Accepting his words as truth I sank back into my pillow, buzzing slight from the sugar rush. My body hummed pleasantly.

"Cai, are you listening?"

I looked up, blinking. Had he been talking? I tried to get my mind to concentrate in my dad.

"Now, hon, we can't let you out yet. I _tried_ to get your mother to, after last night, but she wouldn't have it. She felt this was the best place for you, seems we can see you 24/7 and well…she's just not budging on this friendship thing. I'm sorry sweetheart."

I just nodded, humming. None of it made any sense really, the silly shapes spinning in my head made it impossible to understand anything he said.

Someone spoke from the other side of the room, "What's she doing?"

"Pardon?"

They spoke again, "Her hand. What's it doing? Is she having another fit?"

My eyes slid to the speaker and I found myself staring at silvery blue eyes. A handsome face watched me with concern and clear confusion.

_Hmm…who's that?_ I thought and a voice whispered back to me, clear and sure.

_Harvey._

Growing bored quickly I moved back to the shapes in my head.

"Oh! Ah, it's started. That is exactly what these are for," he told Harvey, holding uo a pencil and thick notebook, "You see the after effects include her writing these…well, I don't know what they are. She writes something, it looks like another language, but no one has been able to find the origins of it and translate the words. She doesn't even know what they mean, and she never remembers writing it, but she writes pages upon pages. They're pretty useless but last time we tried to throw them away she threw a fit."

Silence filled the room.

"After effects of what exactly?"

"I'm sorry Harvey, truly I am. It's not my place to tell you. Cai would hunt me down if I did. She's best at explaining it, seems it's what she experiences," My father told him, the apology heavy in his voice.

"Now, if that pad runs out there are two more over there. If she goes through them tell us before she's finished the last pad. It seems, even in this huge place all the pens have gone missing so there are four pencils. _Do not _ let her use the sharpener! She's not aware of much so if she tries to use it she'll probably end up sharpening her finger. I need you to turn the pages for her too, just for a while. She'll cotton on eventually, don't worry. Just keep her pencil in use and in her hand, that's all I need you to do."

There was silence for a while as Harvey took this all in.

"I know we're asking a lot of you Harvey, on blind faith, but…well, she needs you right now. You're the only one who can be here to care for her."

Harvey must have agreed to whatever was being asked because my father stood and said, "We are in debt to you."

He placed a pad under my hand and placed a long thin object between my fingers. I looked down at the blank page, unblemished and smooth. I pressed the tip of the object to it and was fascinated by the dark line that followed it, harsh against the stark brightness of the page. It burned into my vision, mimicking the symbol in my mind. I continued to mark the paper, copying out the patterns I saw, barely aware that my father was no longer by my side.

He spoke from across the room, "There, she's set. All you have to do now is what I said."

He opened the heavy door, leaving. Then he turned one last time and said to have, "Thank you."

And then he left me alone with the vampire and the shapes in my head.

-OOO-

I was babysitting. Except the baby was nearly an adult and I was getting paid squat. I'd been sharpening Cai's pencil and turning the pages in her thick notebook for an hour and she showed no signs of regaining any sanity. If anything it seemed she had sunk further into her mind.

I fought the angry that welled in me as I watched her reach the end of her page again. This is was ridiculous. Why was I trapped in this room caring for someone who had clearly lost the plot? I chugged the bottle of blood beside me as I turned another page. How had I gotten into this situation?

My mind mussed as I considered this. I remembered countless of times when I had tormented Cai, for the sake of a laugh.

_I held the bag of inching power at a distance, sneaking down the hall. Discretely I popped open her door and slipped inside. Her room was various shades of violet and her bed sat waiting for my gift. I grinned like a madman and began to pour the contents of my bag under her sheets. This was going to be sweet._

_Later, as I sat in my room reading, I heard an enraged scream from down the hall and I erupted into bellowing laughter. I peeked out my door to find her in the hallway, cover in nasty red scratched along her face, arms and legs. The scratches didn't fade for a week and each time I saw them I had to fight laughter._

_-ooo-_

_I stole her phone while she was in the bathroom and riffled through it. I copied her number down and then deleted her entire address book. With a snigger I flicked through her text, which were filled with gooey messages to some douche. With a click of a button those were gone too, so were the pictures and songs. Then I transferred the file and set it into action. I placed her phone back on her desk and fled._

_When I heard her crawl into bed I took out my phone and dialled her number. From her room a voice sounded._

"_Hello, I want to play a game."_

_Screaming ensued immediately and I legged it as her door slammed open. The screaming rang down the hall and I wet myself, collapsing in my room in hysterics._

_-ooo-_

_Jo, Rick and I had spent an hour digging this freaking hole. It was ridiculous deep and it took us climbing on top of one another to leap out. There's no way anyone could get out of by themselves. Perfect._

_We waited for it to rain so mud clogged the bottom and the walls had no grip before we covered it in a thin material and leaves. Then we climbed into the trees and watched, waiting for our prey._

_Then, after what seemed like forever, a swish came through the forest and a rabbit raced over the net, too light to affect it. Then after came a large black shape. The cat flew towards the rabbit, and the net. She crashed down into the hole exactly like we'd planned. I nearly fell from my tree laughing. We all peered into the hole to find a dirty riled tiger trying to climb up the walls of the hole, only to slip back into the pit of mud below. We creased and ran back to the house to bask in our victory._

I chuckled at our cruel fun; I'd forgotten how creative I had been growing up. And Cai had been the perfect guinea pig for my pranks. I had never once failed, and she hadn't never cottoned on that it was me pulling them, though to be fair I had help with the more outrageous stunts. I think she may have suspected once or twice, but she never had any proof and I had plenty of scapegoats if she ever did accuse me. After all, her siblings loved pulling as much shit as I did. Hell, they'd even helped me once or twice.

I laughed again, looking at Cai. This whole episode had just given me weeks of material. My mind churned as I thought about what had happened, what I could do once I was out. If it weren't so obvious I'd do it in here, but then I really couldn't argue it wasn't me.

But then, as I watched her, a tear slid down her pale cheek. tracking it with my eyes I paused in my schemeing. For the first time I thought about what my pranks had done to Cai. She hadn't been able to get the power off her skin for days, the scratches had been so raw they had bled often and eventually she had resorted to wear leather gloves.

The Saw prank had given her weeks of nightmares, which had probably induced her insomnia. She rarely slept, napping in the day and moving restlessly around the house at night. I had heard her countless of times sighing in the corridor or playing her music as 3am in her small studio.

When her aunt Nissa had gotten her out of the hole she was covered in dirt. She had broken her wrist on the way down and now it clicked when she rotated it. She had sneezed and shivered for weeks, the cold refusing to leave her in peace.

I swallowed hard, watching her cry. Nearly every prank had left her bruised or damaged in some way. They weren't harmless. And until now I hadn't cared. It hadn't even registered that I had caused her so much pain, so much fear. The longer I thought of this the more her erratic and strange behaviour made sense. The more her freakishness seemed to be my fault. Shamed filled me. What was wrong with me? Who the hell does that to a person?

Her pencil scratched to the bottom of the page and I leant forward to turn it for her. But suddenly her fingers were there, flicking the page with ease. Her wrist clicked as she did and I winced. I guess Mr. Drache had been right, she would get there. Eventually.

If she could learn, maybe I could too.

* * *

**Sorry it wasn't super long, but it's a good length and i hope it was enjoyable. **

**Virtual cookies for all that review! Hee hee hee hee hee!**


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